As seen before, getting a team into Formula 1 is nearly impossible. The fact that Haas became a Formula 1 team is a miracle in itself. Was this down the Gene Haas, well partly but a huge thanks has to be to Guenther Steiner.
He put his life and soul into the team, travelling across countries and continents for the team to run as well as it possibly could. In my opinion, Guenther Steiner and Haas parting ways is the beginning of the end.
While Guenther Steiner skyrocketed in popularity as a result of the Driver to Survive series, it is no surprise he was always a well-known and liked person on the grid. The fact that Guenther Steiner won’t be on the grid is a huge shame to fans.
While he might be relieved, I’m sure the Haas marketing team and Drive to Survive producers are not. Guenther Steiner brought an air of comedy and likeability to the grid which the likes of Christian Horner and Toto Wolff cannot. There is no doubt that he will be missed.
The parting of ways of Guenther Steiner and Haas will not bring on a new dawn for the team, nor will it be a positive turning point for the team. Steiner was the backbone of that team and a major reason that they could even compete.
I don’t think the higher-ups in the team have necessarily thought about the position that the team is in and what the NEED for Guenther Steiner is for them to progress in the sport. While I see where Gene Hass is coming from, I don’t think Steiner is to blame.
Questions have very evidently been asked over the “lack” of performance from the team. Questions like, “Why are the team not performing?”, “Why are we not higher up in the table?”. Well it’s quite simple, it’s not like the team had much money to use to build a half-decent car season and season again. I do feel like Gene Hass is living off the early days of Haas, rather than looking at the actual state of the team.
Continued
What made it worse is William Storey’s comment “Guenther Steiner was incompetent and duplicitous” is just a cheap shot. Guenther Steiner was an important reason that Rich Energy could have even taken off and achieved its aim of rivalling Red Bull. What he is saying is just another way to try and wiggle back into the F1 scene that has largely forgotten him.
Guenther Steiner brought the glue to a team that needed it. A new team on a low budget and a new business model were always going to be risky and it worked early on. But regulations changed and this business model just couldn’t keep up. Ultimately it is up to Gene Haas to provide adequate funding to put a car on the grid that performs in the way he expects.
The lack of funding was very evident with the dropping of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean and the appointment of Nikita Mazapin and Mick Schumacher. As we all know, that was the dark days of Haas. The fact they raced the same car two seasons in a row shows a lack of ambition. The fact that Guenther Steiner stuck with the team shows a real commitment and loyalty which isn’t seen too much anymore. Haas was Steiner’s more than it was Gene Hass’s in my opinion.
Guenther Steiner is the reason Haas exists, from getting the team into the sport, the navigating them to some incredible results. The fact he was able to lead them through the dark days and then persuade Kevin Magnussen to leave 2 contracts and rejoin the team just shows his influence in the sport.
A major reason that Haas has a Ferrari engine and a very good relationship too is because of Guenther Steiner and his relationship with Mattia Binotto. This was so important to helping Haas get off the ground and be a relatively successful F1 team. The relationship with Ferrari was a big reason that Mick Schumacher came to the team. While it was not a successful partnership, it was better than Nikita Mazapin.
Guenther Steiner and Hass splitting is the start of the end and the only way Gene Hass is going to revive his team is if he takes more interest and provides more funding. I have no doubt Guenther Steiner will make a return, maybe with Audi?
Image Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Enjoyed that article